Medellin-Based Exporters Hail 1st-Ever Colombian Avocado Shipments to U.S. Market
Three Colombian industrial producers of Hass avocados – all based in the Medellin metro area — this month celebrated the first-ever exports of their products to the U.S. market.
The companies – Cartama, Hasspacol and Westsole – are working with California-based Mission Produce to introduce Colombian Hass avocados to the U.S. market, following first-ever import approvals from the U.S. government last month (see: “Top Antioquia Producers Hail U.S. Decision Enabling Avocado Exports,” Medellin Herald, August 16, 2017).
Colombia’s Ministry of Agriculture and the Instituto Colombiano Agropecuario (ICA) worked with avocado producers to achieve crucial U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) safety certification for the products.
ICA “has been instrumental in developing the phytosanitary requirements for export to the U.S.,” said Cartama CEO Ricardo Uribe. “We worked closely with Emilio Arevalo, the technical director at ICA, and with APHIS, in assuring that the strict requirements of the export protocol were met and that all future farms adhere to this protocol,” Uribe added.
The first Colombian Hass avocados reaching the market were grown by Hasspacol and packed at Cartama’s packing facility in Pereira, according to Mission Produce.
